Latest news with #toxic masculinity
The Guardian
a day ago
- Entertainment
- The Guardian
Reputation review – front and swagger in brawling portrait of British male rage
Squint and you can picture the two leads of this film playing the Gallagher brothers circa the big Oasis bust-up of 2009 – all front and swagger, eyebrows set into aggrieved furrows. Instead, in this small-time British crime drama, James Nelson-Joyce and Kyle Rowe play old mates dealing drugs in the fictional northern town where they grew up. It's a brawling tale about a man who feels trapped by toxic masculinity, though in the end the film too backs itself into a bit of a dead end of macho violence. Nelson-Joyce is Wes, who has been questioning his life and choices since his best mate Tommy (Rowe) went to prison. Wes and his girlfriend Zoe (Olivia Frances Brown) have just had a baby, and there's even talk of a job. Then Tommy is released, a repugnant bully unwilling to let Wes go. Rowe's ferocious performance feels horribly real, like an angry dysregulated little boy with a need to break anything he can't have. Tommy's rage gives the film some nauseating moments; perhaps even harder to stomach is the casual misogyny in Wes's circle. Reputation is a grim portrait of male rage, though it doesn't seem particularly interested in the reasons behind it. There is a real sense of place though, in rows of narrow terraced houses backing on to wide open expanses of countryside. And for a film put together on what looks like a minuscule budget, it gets a considerable amount done. There's a promising plotline about one of Wes and Tommy's customers, the mother of a murdered 10-year-old boy, as well as little flickers here and there of another life open to Wes. But in the end it all builds to a big grandiose violent ending, which is a bit of a shame. ● Reputation is on digital platforms from 28 July.
The Guardian
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- The Guardian
Reputation review – front and swagger in brawling portrait of British male rage
Squint and you can picture the two leads of this film playing the Gallagher brothers circa the big Oasis bust-up of 2009 – all front and swagger, eyebrows set into aggrieved furrows. Instead, in this small-time British crime drama, James Nelson-Joyce and Kyle Rowe play old mates dealing drugs in the fictional northern town where they grew up. It's a brawling tale about a man who feels trapped by toxic masculinity, though in the end the film too backs itself into a bit of a dead end of macho violence. Nelson-Joyce is Wes, who has been questioning his life and choices since his best mate Tommy (Rowe) went to prison. Wes and his girlfriend Zoe (Olivia Frances Brown) have just had a baby, and there's even talk of a job. Then Tommy is released, a repugnant bully unwilling to let Wes go. Rowe's ferocious performance feels horribly real, like an angry dysregulated little boy with a need to break anything he can't have. Tommy's rage gives the film some nauseating moments; perhaps even harder to stomach is the casual misogyny in Wes's circle. Reputation is a grim portrait of male rage, though it doesn't seem particularly interested in the reasons behind it. There is a real sense of place though, in rows of narrow terraced houses backing on to wide open expanses of countryside. And for a film put together on what looks like a minuscule budget, it gets a considerable amount done. There's a promising plotline about one of Wes and Tommy's customers, the mother of a murdered 10-year-old boy, as well as little flickers here and there of another life open to Wes. But in the end it all builds to a big grandiose violent ending, which is a bit of a shame. ● Reputation is on digital platforms from 28 July.
Telegraph
4 days ago
- Entertainment
- Telegraph
Primary school uses trans actor as positive example of masculinity
A primary school has held up a trans man as a positive example of masculinity in teaching materials for its pupils. Streatham Wells School, in south-west London, said Elliott Page, the Canadian actor who medically transitioned with cross-sex hormones along with gender surgery and now identifies as a man, showed that masculinity 'can mean softness and strength'. The school used the example of Page, along with the singer Harry Styles, to show children how men can be multi-dimensional Page, who starred in Juno, Inception and X-Men, publicly came out as gay in 2014 and as transgender in 2020, using the pronouns he/they. In an article for the online newsletter Teachwire, Sarah Wordlaw, the head teacher, wrote about her school's efforts to tackle issues such as toxic masculinity and violence against women. 'We need to encourage empathy' She wrote: 'It is important to teach pupils about harmful stereotypes about masculinity. However, if the first time we teach and name masculinity is calling it toxic, that could do more damage than good to our boys. 'It is extremely important to teach about positive masculinities. We need to encourage empathy, kindness, showing emotions, listening to alternative points of view and developing emotional literacy. 'Undoing the deeply ingrained gender stereotypes in our society takes time. It's certainly not a quick fix. We have seen a significant improvement in children's awareness of key issues surrounding gender equality. They know how to use their voice to advocate for others. 'To be a man is not to be simply one thing' Ms Wordlaw added: 'Moving forward, we are going to continue to work on representation in our curriculum. This is not just representation of the amazing, strong women who have shaped global history, but also representation of positive masculinity. 'We need to show that to be a man is not to be simply one thing. To do so, we highlight well-known figures such as Harry Styles and Elliot Page. They show that masculinity can mean softness and strength, and everything in between.' However, some educational professionals have suggested that holding up a trans man as a positive example of masculinity might undermine the intended message that biological men can be gentle and caring.
Irish Times
11-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Irish Times
Kevin Penrose: ‘You have guys playing Gaelic football who are too scared to come out. I want to give them courage'
I grew up in a place just outside Castlederg, Tyrone , called Aghyaran. I come from a family of four boys. We were, and are still, a very Gaelic football household. My father played and coached teams. My older brothers played county. The GAA has a lot of history. There are very traditional values. Growing up, you're just there to play football. People don't really talk about their problems. Going into my teenage years, you had toxic masculinity in the changing rooms. You're trying to find out who you are, and you're going up through these teams, and there's a sense that to stand out and be seen as one of the best footballers, you need to act a certain way around others. There was the impression that if I didn't take part in, for example, the 'gay' word being thrown around the changing room, I would be seen as weak. I didn't know I was gay until around 18 or 19. I started having an inkling around 16, 17, but I didn't really know. After my school years I went over to Liverpool for university, thinking that's my chance now to explore my sexuality. It was figured out away from Ireland. Kevin Penrose on an adventure I spent a lot of summers in the US, working at summer camps. Looking back, it was a great experience, but it was my way of coping by getting away. Every time I came home, there would be questions about whether I was coming back to football, but I knew myself I wouldn't be able to. Even though I was a good footballer, I was hiding my true self. READ MORE My love of travel goes back to those times in the US. I took my GoPro around, just to document it for friends and family. I posted on Instagram and whatnot. I didn't really explore Ireland that much, but [later] I started to think Ireland actually has so much beauty in the mountains and beaches I've never seen before. The hobby of [documenting] continued into the next couple of years. During Covid came the start of TikTok . I thought: I have such a backlog of footage and content of Ireland at this stage, why not just post it? My page sort of blew up. I started growing an audience. [ Róis: 'Moving away from Ireland shook me. Going away is essential' Opens in new window ] After Covid, I did just under eight months in Asia. I still carried on posting travel content, but I got to the stage where I didn't even enjoy that. I remember I was in Phuket in Thailand for about a week and there were four of five days where I didn't leave the hotel room. It was just me, myself and my thoughts. That's when I decided to ring home and come out. Looking back now, I wish it was in person, but I think once you're in that head space, you just need to get it off your chest. I told the family and friends and everything was great. I had a big following, so I thought I'd post a video about it. That took off as well. I came back to Ireland that September. I went back to football the next season. The first session back, I was like: what way is it going to go? We've a panel of 45-50 lads. I'm friends with all of them but I wouldn't have in-depth conversations with a lot of them. But everything was so normal. It was like okay, I'm just here to play football. I'm not feeling paranoid about how I should talk, how I should act. I don't have to sit in a corner any more. I can stand up and be a vital part of this team. Because I was running away for so long, I associated Ireland with how I felt at that time: just sad and lonely and anxious. In the three years since I came back, I've never felt how I felt 10 years ago. From the moment I stepped back in Ireland, I've been on a high. With the travel bits as well, I can see the beauty of Ireland and what it has to offer; I can take the time to do hiking and sea swims and the small things in life. If you appreciate what you have here, you notice that you don't have to fly halfway across the world to see a beautiful sunset or mountain. The GAA, that environment, my football club, used to be the place I dreaded going. Now, I look at it as one of my safest places I post a lot more personal stuff now, which I think captivates a new audience. I want to be the role model that I didn't have growing up. We didn't know about any openly gay GAA players at the time. It wasn't in the public eye, which, I think, is one of the reasons why I felt I couldn't really take part [in football, for a time]. That's why I'm happy to talk about it now – you have guys who are still in rural communities playing football but they're too scared to come out. I'm hoping the content I post will resonate and give them courage. I've never gone back into that mindset of: Ireland isn't for me. It flipped on its head. The GAA, that environment, my football club, used to be the place I dreaded going. Now, I look at it as one of my safest places, where I can be myself. In conversation with Niamh Donnelly. This interview is part of a series about well-known people's lives and relationships with Ireland. Follow Kevin's journey on TikTok @kevin_penrose_
The Guardian
15-06-2025
- Health
- The Guardian
Labor MP Dan Repacholi on masculinity, men's health and why he was ‘embarrassed' to visit his doctor
'Big Dan' Repacholi is still eating big burgers – but after a major health kick which saw him lose more than 30kg, he's down to one sandwich per sitting, from his previous three. After a period where he admits he was 'embarrassed' to visit his doctor, the affable and popular member for Hunter has been named the federal government's special envoy for men's health, and is on a crusade to get blokes and boys to talk about their problems with health professionals and their families. For the second-term Labor MP, that meant talking to friends and doctors about eating healthier. For other men in Australia, as Repacholi tells Guardian Australia in a revealing and frank interview, it may mean talking about mental health, sexual health or toxic masculinity. 'It's about getting the conversation going between blokes, to go 'I just went and had a heart health checkup today, and you know what? They actually found something,'' he says. 'On the mental health side of things, there are so many, so many men and boys who are struggling. But it also is about teaching boys and young adolescents the right level of masculinity, through schools as well, about what is acceptable and what isn't.' 'Talk to 50 blokes, especially those that are a little bit older, they still think you need to get a finger in the arse to get a prostate check; they don't realise it's a simple little blood test. There's so much that isn't getting out there to the average population and that we need to do better at.' Repacholi, standing over two metres tall with a big bushy beard, came to parliament last term after a life working in the Hunter Valley mining industry and a glittering career in pistol shooting as a former Olympiian and Commonwealth Games champion. Well-liked around Canberra, he's known for producing an annual calendar with photos of him eating large hamburgers around the Hunter region; but he admits he indulged to excess, particularly enjoying KFC and finishing off his family's dinner leftovers. 'I got to 152 kilos,' Repacholi says. 'It's the biggest I've ever been. And I've always been a big guy – I don't remember seeing large [size shirts], I only see Xs in front of it.' 'I was walking down the street in Cessnock, and I saw myself in a window … and I thought, 'Holy fuck, look how fat you are.'' Repacholi says he spoke to two medical doctors in the Labor caucus, Mike Freelander and Gordon Reid, admitting he was looking for 'a quick fix'. Repacholi is open about having used injectable weight management drugs, but he was told to go see his doctor for a weight-loss plan. 'I was embarrassed to go see my doctor, because I'd gotten so big,' he says. 'I didn't tell anyone at first … but then I thought, this is going to be fine, I'll give it a go.' Now having dropped a large amount of weight, aided by a gym workout plan and healthy eating, Repacholi says he wants to share his story in hopes of being an example for other men feeling sheepish about asking for help. 'I thought, we should be having those conversations, and I should be telling people about this, because there might be millions of people like me embarrassed to go see their doctor,' he says. 'If an elected official can't have these conversations, how do you expect George, or Tom or Craig down the street to be able to?' The annual burger calendar though, Repacholi laughs, is safe and will continue. Named to the envoy role last month, working under the health minister, Mark Butler, Repacholi is taking to it with abandon. The past week has been Men's Health Week, and Repacholi – already known for his zany and enthusiastic social media presence – has posted videos about calling Butler for a goodnight check-in and a meme about erectile dysfunction . 'Or as some of us call it: 'the old fella clocking off early',' Repacholi posted, saying men 'should be chatting about it more'. This article includes content provided by Instagram. We ask for your permission before anything is loaded, as they may be using cookies and other technologies. To view this content, click 'Allow and continue'. The MP says his advocacy role will cover all aspects of men's health, physical and mental. He points to Men's Sheds, including virtual ones and Facebook groups, as avenues he thinks work well, but raised concerns about how adolescents learned about relationships. 'Most young boys are finding out about sex through porn. They're not being taught at school. Their first encounters into anything like that is looking at porn online, and that can go down so many different rabbit warrens that you don't want to open it up,' he says. 'It's about teaching them how to respect women, how to respect ladies, how to respect girls, or how to respect any partner that they have.' The social services portfolio, under former minister Amanda Rishworth and new minister Tanya Plibersek, has been working on issues around healthy relationships, domestic violence and masculinity for some time, with particular concern around 'men's rights' influencers on social media perpetuating toxic attitudes towards gender roles and sex. Repacholi says that will be part of his focus, working with social services. 'If we can get these young boys on the right track in school with learning what the right level of healthy masculinity is, we're on to a winner,' he says. 'If they can see that if they do treat somebody like what some of those people [men's right influencers] have been, they don't get any respect. 'It's a hard, hard conversation. There's no doubt about that. And we're always going to have people like that in the world that will say that. 'But hopefully the young boys out there can see that that is not the right way.'
